Lawn sprinkler



Sept. 13, 1960 EPSON LAWN SPRINKLER Filed May zo, 1957 IN V EN TOR.

Unite LAWN spamrun Filed May 20, 1957, Ser. No. 660,124

13 Claims. (C1. 239-242) The present invention relates to a lawnsprinkler, and more particularly `to a lawn sprinkler of the oscillatingtype employing a horizontally disposed spray tube oscillated about itsaxis.

One form of the oscillating lawn sprinkler as it is known in the art,may be seen in my copending application Serial No. 575,881 on a LawnSprinkler, filed April 3, 1956, now Patent No. 2,904,255. The sprinklinghead disclosed in the above-identified application includes an archedmetal tube disposed generally horizontally and oscillated about ahorizontal axis. This tube has a number of longitudinally spaced oricesin line along the length of the tube. Since the tube is arched, watersupplied to the interior of the tube ows through the orifices upwardlyin streams having components of direction axially of the tube. In thatthe orifices are in line, the streams of water describe a fanlikepattern as they leave the arched spray tube. The tube is usuallyoscillated about a horizontal axis by a small water turbine, and thespray moves back and forth along a swath or path of a fixed width. Inpreviously known sprinklers of this type, the angle through which thetube is oscillated may be increased or decreased to vary the length ofthe swath of coverage, and the angle of oscillation may be adjusted toone side of the center of the sprinkler so that the area of coverage isshifted. No means have heretofore been provided, however, whereby anoscillating sprinkler of the above discussed form may be adjusted toincrease the width of the swath of coverage.

AIt is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a new andimproved lawn sprinkler of the adjustable type.

-Another object of the invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler havingan elongated tube provided with orifices spaced therealong and directedupwardly and radially of the tube together with means for adjusting thedivergence of said orifices along the tube.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved lawn sprinklerof the oscillating tube type in which both the oscillatory movement maybe varied and the Awidth of the path of coverage of' the sprinkler aswell may be varied.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler having aflexible tube sprinkler head which may be bowed to several positions tovary the width of the area sprinkled.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an oscillating lawnsprinkler having a flexible tube provided with orifices spaced along oneside of the tube together with means for oscillating the tube and drawbar means for selectively drawing the ends of the two toward one anotherto bow the tube to a desired extent.

A further object of the invention is to provide a conduit having aspring metal strip positioned on one side thereof together with meansfor bowing the strip whereby the conduit is also bowed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a flexible conduitextruded with a central passage and a tes Patent O ICC slot extendingalong one side thereof in which a spring steel strip extends so thatwhen the strip is placed under longitudinal pressure it bows the conduitelement.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the following description proceeds and the features ofnovelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out withparticularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of thisspecification.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side perspective of a sprinkler embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section of the sprinklershown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is the enlarged vertical section taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged top plan view of an element forming a part of thesprinkler shown in Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section of a flexible conduit forming apart of a sprinkler constituting an alternate embodiment of theinvention.

The present invention provides an elongated tubular sprinkler headdisposed generally horizontally for directing streams of water upwardlywith components directed longitudinally of the head together with meansfor varying the bow of the head to increase or decrease the longitudinalcomponents by changing the divergence of the streams of water. Thesprinkler head may include a flexible conduit or tube having series oforifices formed on the top side thereof and also having the slot formedon the bottom side thereof. The tube is mounted on a driving arbor atone end and a driven arbor at the other end, and is supplied withwaterunder pressure through the driving arbor. The arbors are provided withflanges at the ends of the tube, and compress` a spring steel stripmounted in the slot in the tube to bow the strip and the tube upwardly.A draw bar rigidly connected to lugs on the arbors may be actuatedmanually to move the driven arbor more closely to the driving arbor toincrease the bowing of the tube. This increased bowing causes greaterdivergence of the streams of water from the orifices to widen the swathof the coverage of the water streams from the sprinkler. Suitable meansIare also provided for oscillating the driving arbor to oscillate thetube. In an alternate embodiment of the invention the tube is composedof an elongated strip of spring steel having overturned edge portionsclamping and sealed to the edges of a strip of plastic material somewhat-wider than the strip of steel and provided with orifices to form aflexible conduit or tube.

In the sprinkler shown in Figs. 1 and 2, there is provided a base 10supporting a motor housing or standard 11 at one end and a spray tubesupporting standard 12 at .the other end, the standard 12 being providedwith a bearingportion 13. The standard 11 is provided with a bearinginsert 15 supporting a hollow driving arbor 16 having a peripheralflange 16a thereon, and mounts the arbor 16 rotatably while limitinglongitudinal movement of the arbor. The housing 11 houses a motor of thetype disclosed and claimed in the above-mentioned copending applicationand discharges water under pressure to a passage 21 through the arbor 16into a flexible tube or conduit 25. I'he tube 25 is also mounted on adriven arbor 26 having its end plug closed by a plug 27. The arbor 26 isrotatably mounted in the bearing i3 and is freely slidablelongitudinally thereof in the bearing 13. The arbor 16 is provided witha bent up nipple portion 17 having a corrugated periphery, and fitstightly into a passage 31 in the conduit 25, which is clamped tightly to4the nipple portion 17 by a shaped hose clamp 33. Similarly, the arbor26 is provided with a nipple portion I3 Y34 fitting into the other endof the tube 25 and sealed thereto by plastic cement or the like andclamped tightly thereto by a hose clamp 36.

A peripheral ange 37 `integral with the arbor 26 Vabuts the right-handend of the tube 25, as viewed in Fig. 2, and, similarly, a peripheralflange 38 is positioned on the arbor 16 near the end of the nipple 28.The flanges 37 and 38 are provided with parallel extending lugs 39 and4G, respectively, to which shoulder rods 41 and 42 are riveted andrigidly connect. The rods 41 and 42 are provided with oppositelythreaded portions 43 and 44, respectively, which are connected by aturnbuckle sleeve 45 having a knurled plastic collar 46 connectedrigidly thereto. After the sleeve 45 is screwed on the ends of the rods41 and 42, the flanges 37 and 38 are held in position holding theportions of the arbors 16 and 26 in axial alignment with one another.The rods 41 and 42 prevent cocking of arbors 16 and 26 relative to oneanother and relative to the bearing elements 13 and 15 on which they aremounted, and thus avoiding binding.

The conduit 25 may be formed by continuously extruding an elastomericcompound such as, for example, a compound including vinyl as itsessential ingredient, or other suitable plastic rubber-like compounds ofthe type used for making garden hose. The conduit 25 is formed with thecentral water passage 31, and radially directed orifices 52 which may bemolded integrally with the upper side of the conduit in a row extendingtherealong. The orifices also may ybe formed by molded nozzles insertedinto the upper side of the conduit when this is of the extruded type andsecured thereto as by riveting, for example. A slot 4S on the bottomside of the conduit 25 extends along the entire length of the conduit,and, after the continuous length of the conduit is cut into the desiredlength, a thin spring steel strip 56 is inserted into the slot 48. Thestrip 50 extends to points near the ends of the conduit 25, and tapersfrom the central portion thereof which is of one width to narrow widthsat the ends thereof to make the end portions of the strip 50 moreflexible than the central portion thereof. The ends of the strip t) arefitted in V-shaped notches 53 formed in butting plates 54 mounted in theend portions of the slot 48 and abutting the flanges 37 `and 38 on thearbors 26 and 16, respectively. The notches 53 permit pivotal movementof the strip 50 relative thereto while securely holding the ends of thestrip 50 when the strip 50 is placed under compression. The turnbuckle46 may be turned to draw the arbor 26 closer to the arbor 16 therebybowing the strip 50 and the highly flexible conduit 25 to a greaterextent. This directs the orifices or nozzle portions 52 adjacent to theleft-hand end of the conduit 25, as viewed in Fig. 2, much more to theleft and the orifices to the right of the central portion of the conduit25 much more to the right. That is, in the invention the conduit isbowed toward the side thereof on which the orifices are disposed so thatthe orifices are positioned on the convex side off the bowed conduit.Consequently, jets oscillate the arbor 16 through selected angles.

There is shown in Fig. 5 a flexible housing and conduit 75 forming analternate embodiment of the invention being designed to be substitutedfor the conduit 25 and the spring strip 50 with suitable changes forconnecting the arbors 16 and 26, which may be provided with flattenednipple portions (not shown) designed to lit closely into kthe ends ofthe conduit 75 and to be sealed thereto. The conduit 75 includes yastrip 76 of spring metal having overturned edge portions 77 clampingedge portions 7S of a flat strip 79 of plastic rubber or rubber-likemate-- rial having orifices or nozzle portion 80 arranged in a row alongthe central portion thereof. The edge portions 78 of the strip 79 may besealed to the edge portions of the strip 76 by known cements. The strips76 and 79 form a passage therebetween for water under pressure,

The strip 79 may be a flat mem-ber of a width vgreater than that of thestrip 76. The greater width causes strip 79 to bow away from the 'strip76 when the edge portions are enclosed in the overturned edge portions77. Also the strip 79 may be molded into a semi-cylindrical form and beof the same width as the strip 76. The strips 76 and 79 may also be-tapered in width from the central portion thereof toward the ends tomake the ends more flexible than the central portion. This differentialflexibility also may be obtained by Vhaving the strip 76 of uniformwidth while tapered in thickness from the central portion toward theends thereof.

In a sprinkler (not shown) forming an alternate ernbodiment of theinvention, the conduit corresponding to conduit 25 may be inflexiblewhile angularly adjustable nozzles of a known type are provided in placeof the nozzles 52. Then, if the width of the swath of sprinkling is`sought to be changed, the nozzles are adjusted toditferent anglesrelative to the longitudinal axis of Vthe conduit to provide such avariation.

While there has been illustrated and described what are considered Itobe the preferred embodiments: of the present invent-ion, it will beunderstood that various changes and modifications will readily suggestthemselves to those .skilled in the art, and it is intended in theappended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. In a sprinkler, a flexible conduit having orifices spaced therealongon one side thereof, means connected' t-o the ends of said conduitmounting said conduit for oscillatory movement, means for bowing saidconduit'to-l Ward said one side, and means for adjusting said bowingmeans to vary the degree of bowing of said conduit.

2. In a sprinkler, a flexible conduit having openings spaced therealongon one side thereof, a iirst means holding one portion of said conduitagainst longitudinal Inovement relative thereto, a second means holdinga portion of said conduit spaced from said one portion thereof againstlongitudinal movement relative thereto, and adjustable means for holdingsaid first means and said second means in any of a plurality ofpositions spaced different distances apart for bowing the flexibleconduit toward said one side and varying the degree of bowing.

3. In a sprinkler, first arbor means, second arbor means, a conduitformed of flexible material mounted on said first and second arbor meansand held against longitudinal movement relative to said arbor means,said conduit having fluid-directing orifices along one side thereofextending substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axisthereof, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said conduit, meansfor oscillating said conduit, and means mounting one of said arbor-means for adjustment toward the other of said arbor means, whereby saidconduit may be bowed toward said one side to cause divergence of saidorifices for increasing the area of coverage of jets of fluid from saidconduit.

4. In a sprinkler, a flexible conduit having perforations spacedytherealong on one side thereof, driving arbor means holding one end ofsaid conduit against longitudinal movement relative thereto, drivenarbor means holding the other end of said conduit against longitudinalmovement relative thereto and aligned with said driving arbor means,water-driven motor means for driving said driving arbor means so as ltooscillate said conduit, means for supplying water under pressure to saidmotor means and said conduit, a base, means fixing said driving arbormeans against longitudinal movement relative to one end of said base,means mounting said driven arbor for longitudinal movement `toward andaway from said driving arbor to bow said flexible conduit toward saidone side, and selectively operable means for locking said driven arbormeans against longitudinal movement relative to said base in any of aplurality of positions spaced along said base.

5. In a sprinkler, a base, a first arbor at one end of said base, asecond arbor mounted on said base and movable along said base toward andaway from said first arbor, means for locking said second arbor inselected positions on said base, a bowed flexible conduit having a rowof holes therein along the convex side of said bowed conduit, meansmounting one end of the conduit on said iirst arbor, means mounting theother end of said conduit on said second arbor, motor means carried bysaid base for oscillating said conduit, and means for supplying waterunder pressure to said conduit.

6. In a sprinkler, a pair of aligned bearings spaced from oneV another,a tubular arbor having a lug projecting therefrom and said arbor beingmounted rotatably in one of said bearings, a second arbor having a lugprojecting therefrom and said second arbor being mounted rotatably andslidably in the other of said bearings, an adjustable pull rodconnecting said lugs together, a bowed flexible conduit having nozzleportions extending transversely thereof and spaced therealong on theconvex side of said bowed conduit, said conduit being connected atopposite ends to said arbors, means yfor supplying liquid under pressureto said tubular arbor, and means for oscillating one of said arbors tooscillate said conduit.

7. In a sprinkler, a pair of generally 'aligned bearings which arespaced from one another, a pair of arbors mounted rotatably in saidbearings, one of said arbors being slidable longitudinally in thebearing in which it is mounted, a bowed exible conduit fastened to saidarbors and being provided with transversely directed nozzle portionsspaced therealong on the convex side of said bowed conduit, a draw barconnecting said arbors together for moving said arbors toward and awayfrom one another to Vary the degree of bow of said conduit, means foroscillating said Iconduit and said arbors, and means for supplying waterunder pressure to said conduit.

8. In a sprinkler, a exible conduit having transversely directed nozzleportions spaced from one another along one side of said conduit, a pairof oscillatory mounting means connected to the ends of said conduit, andmeans for moving said mounting means toward one another to bow saidconduit toward said one side.

9. In a sprinkler, a first vertical standard, a second verticalstandard, a driving arbor mounted rotatably on said rst standard, adriven arbor mounted rotatably and slidably on said second standard,each of said arbors having a lug projecting laterally therefrom, a rstrod rigidly secured to the lug of said driving arbor, a second rodrigidly secured to the `lug of said driven arbor and aligned with saidiirst rod, turnbuckle means connecting said rods adjustably together`for adjusting the spacing of said arbors relative to one another, abowed flexible conduit mounted on said arbors and longitudinallycompressed therebetween, said conduit being provided with transverselydirected orifices spaced therealong on the convex side of said bowedconduit, and means for supplying liquid under pressure to said conduit.

l0. In a sprinkler, a exible `conduit having nozzle portions on one sidethereof, a spring strip secured to and extending along the other side ofsaid conduit, means connected to the ends of said conduit :for turningthe conduit, yand means yfor moving the ends of said strip toward oneanother to bow said strip and said conduit toward said one side.

11. In a sprinkler, a conduit having orifices spaced along one sidethereof and a `slot extending along the opposite side thereof, a springstrip tapering toward the ends thereof, said strip being mounted linsaid slot and secured to said opposite side, a pair of plates havingnotches in the ends thereof mounted in the ends of said slot andreceiving the ends of said strip in said notches, a pair of arborssecured to the ends of said conduit and provided with transversely'extending portions engaging said plates, and means for drawing saidarbors toward one another to bow said strip and said conduit toward saidone side.

12. In a sprinkler, irst bearing means, second bearing means, a conduitformed of flexible material mounted in said first and second bearingmeans, said conduit having fluid-directing bores along one side thereofextending substantially perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of theconduit, means for supplying iiuid under pressure to said conduit, meansfor `oscillating said conduit, and means mounting one end of saidconduit vfor adjustment toward `the other end thereof, whereby bowing ofsaid conduit toward said one side is effected to increase the area ofcoverage by jets of liuid from said conduit.

13. In la sprinkler, a pair of arbors spaced apart and rotatable onaligned axes, a bowed conduit formed of flexible material secured tosaid arbors, said conduit having laterally directed nozzles along theconvex side thereof, means for supplying tiuid under pressure to saidconduit, draw bar means connecting said arbors together, and means vforoscillating said arbors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS265,716 Taylor Oct. 10, 1882 961,251 Opitz June 14, 1910 1,517,664Bergquist Dec. 2, 1924 1,534,633 Congable Apr. 21, '1925 1,752,193Hanlan Mar. 25, 1930 2,129,471 Juengst Sept. 6, 1938 2,283,974 DillonMay 26, 1942 2,426,603 Freygang Sept. 2, 1947 2,444,367 Prescott June29, 1948 2,814,529 Arnt Nov. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 372,806 GermanyApr. 3, 1923

